The Burlington School Committee held a first reading of a proposed competency-determination (CD) policy that would define the district's local measures of student competency for graduation separate from state MCAS scores.

Dr. Chen (presenting) described the policy as a framework in which "to show mastery, a student must successfully complete, in accordance with the school's grading policy, the final assessment for a course, a capstone, or portfolio project, or an equivalent measure identified in Burlington High School's program of studies." The draft keeps local graduation credit requirements distinct from competency measures: students would need to meet both to earn a diploma.

Much of the discussion centered on mathematics. Committee members and administrators debated whether Algebra I taken in eighth grade should count as a high-school credit and how that interacts with the district's four-year high-school math credit requirement. Mark Sullivan (presenting on behalf of the Middlesex League principals) said the CD proposal attempts to replicate the prior MCAS baseline by requiring demonstration of competency equivalent to Algebra I and geometry standards. Sullivan noted that graduation credit requirements remain a separate local decision.

Committee members raised concerns about clarity in the draft. Questions included whether students who complete Algebra I in eighth grade would still be required to take four full years of math in high school or whether the eighth-grade course could reduce that requirement. Administrators said the policy separates competency (the minimum demonstrated mastery) from local graduation credit counts and that the program-of-studies and future course-numbering decisions would determine how an eighth-grade high-school-level course would be handled.

No committee vote was taken; the item remains a first reading. Administrators said the policy is intended as an interim approach while the state task force develops new statewide guidance for graduation requirements and that the draft could be revised to clarify how eighth-grade high-school courses will interact with local credit requirements.